Warning: Fragile Contents
by TwistedPenguin
Summary: This weapons master may be tough and tom-boyish on the outside, but on the inside she is as fragile as porcelain doll. He constantly breaks her without a second thought. A story about Tenten's feelings towards the cold ninja that has her heart.
1. Tenten

Okay, so I'm in a really weird mood right now, so my writing style has shifted a bit east, whatever that is supposed to mean. Anywho, I have this entire story written in my head, and It'll be typed up soon enough, I just need to sort out exactly how to put it in words. Review if you would be so kind. Thanks and I hope you like it!

Tenten bit her lip.

It was already coming up on one o clock and her team was nowhere in sight.

She specifically remembered Gai-sensei saying that, if weather permitted, they would have a training session today, and with another team. The sky was clear and beautiful and the air was crisp, hints of autumn could be caught in the light breezes that came about. It was beautiful outside, so why wasn't her team at the usual training spot?

Just then, it hit her. "Shit..." she muttered under her breath, taking off towards the southern wall. One of Gai's rules was that, out of courtesy, if they trained with another team, it would be at their training grounds. Today was supposed to be training with Team , and their training grounds were on the other side of Konoha.

She ran as fast as she could, jumping from roof top to roof top, tree to tree. It didn't take her long to cover the distance, but she was still unbelievably late.

She finally arrived, panting.

"Hey Tenten, what took ya so long?" asked a smiling Ino.

"I forgot we were meeting here today..." Tenten responded

"I am sorry for my tardiness." She said, turning to her sensei.

"That is OK! Mistakes of such small measure are normal for youth such as yourself!" Gai said, nearly shouting. He gave her is trademark smile and thumbs up.

She just smiled, shaking her head.

"Tardiness may be acceptable for youth, but for a Ninja it is unacceptable."

Tenten's heart sank at hearing this.

The words belonged to Neji.

She didn't know why, but for him to say that to her made her want to cry. No one had that sort of hold on her and she was ashamed that she let him get to her, but she couldn't help it. He was the best ninja of the group. He never made mistakes, was never late, and never lost in battle. He had a 99 success rate on missions. It would be a 100, but Naruto was involved in one mission, so he was doomed. On top of being perfect in every aspect of that subject, he was also incredibly handsome. His dark brown hair was always in place, kept out of his way so that it didn't interfere. His skin was pale, nearly translucent, no matter how long he was in the sun. Being a ninja, he was also incredibly fit. From time to time, when he and Lee were sparring, he would remove his shirt and Tenten had to try her hardest to hide the blush that crept across her face every time.

She liked him, and he wanted nothing to do with her.

"Chill Neji, not everyone is as uptight as you." Shikamaru said, already bored with the current situation.

"Hn" was Neji's only reply.

They two teams spent the remainder of the day training together. It wasn't until the sun set that they decided to turn in for the day. Asuma invited both teams to dinner, on him. Everyone agreed, all tired from training and not stupid enough to pass up a free meal.

They sat down to their meal, absolutely famished. Even Ino, who was constantly on a diet, had seconds. Chouji, Ino, and Lee talked non-stop about just about everything. Shikamaru was in some sort of discussion with Asuma and Gai, with Neji giving his opinion on what was being said every now and then. Tenten ate her meal in silence. Internally, she was berating herself for screwing up earlier and for letting Neji's words hurt her so badly. She was the master weapon-nin of Konoha for Christ's sake! Her record was nearly as good as Neji's and she was fairly well known among the teams for her toughness and ferocity. She was pretty much impervious from criticism. That is, unless it was from _him._

She sighed. As tough as she was on the outside, she was nothing but glass on the inside. Easily shattered by the smallest of things. The thing that hurt the most was knowing that the one person she admired would rather pretend she was invisible than actually have to put up with her.

After a while, everyone finished their meals and went their separate ways. On her way home, Tenten was lost in thought, so she didn't notice the blond kunoichi walk up beside her.

Ino tapped on Tenten's shoulder, making her jump.

"Whats on your mind, Tenten" Ino asked.

"Oh, nothing really" she replied half heartedly.

"Yeah, and I'm the tooth fairy" Ino said sarcastically. "But really, whats buggin' ya? You seemed down today during training and you didn't say a word at dinner" Tenten could see the concern in Ino's face, but couldn't bring herself to tell Ino the truth. There was a part of her the wanted to get it off her chest, to tell SOMEONE so that she didn't have to bottle everything up, but the other part of her wanted to keep it in its bottle in hopes she eventually pretend it wasn't there.

"Today was just an off day for me." Tenten said, attempting to smile.

Ino saw right through it.

"Its about what Neji said, Isn't it." It wasn't a question.

"I know you've had eyes for that boy since day one. I honestly don' understand it. He never does anything but cut you down." Ino shook her head.

Tenten just stared at her feet. "Why does Ino have to be so damn intuitive?" she thought to herself.

"Hey, I got an idea!" she said suddenly. Tenten turned her head towards Ino, wary of what the idea may be.

"Hinata and Sakura are coming over later tonight for a bit of a sleepover. You should join us. It'll get your mind off everything!"

Tenten smiled, for real this time. "Sounds like a plan." she said. A night out with the girls is just what she needed.

"Awesome!" Ino exclaimed, doing a mini dance. "Come over around nine! It'll be a blast!"

With that, Ino took off in the direction of her place, leaving Tenten there to tend to her thoughts.


	2. Neji

"Hey, Neji?"

Neji turned to see Chouji behind him.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Whats your deal dude?" Chouji asked him.

Neji just looked at him, confused.

Chouji rolled his eyes, reminding Neji of Ino. Neji shuddered.

"I mean.." he started. "Whats your deal with Tenten. I know your a hard ass, but that was just cruel."

Neji continued looking confused.

"DUDE! You totally killed her earlier with that harsh shit. You acted like she was a total dissapointment, and just for being late ONCE!"

"I simply informed her that tardiness was not acceptable" he said, seeing no wrong in what he had said.

Chouji sighed in exasperation.

"That may be the case, but the way you said it was totally unnessecary. It obviously hurt her pretty bad, she didn't say a word the rest of the day."

"How is that the case?" Neji asked. "Tenten is not one to worry about other people's criticism. Even if it does bother her, she just pulls out one of her weapons scrolls and scares the hell out of them."

"That may be the case usually, but abviously from you it hurts." Chouji said. Trying to explain this to the cold ninja was a serious pain.

"what do you mean by that?" Neji asked.

"You still don't get it?" Chouji asked him in disbelief. "That chick has had it for you BAD since day one! It seriously has to suck for her, you always cutting her down when all she does is attempt to impress you."

"Chouji, your an idiot. Tenten and I are teammates with mutual feelings as such. I think that, of all people, I would know if she liked me as more than such."

"Dont belive me, eh?" Chouji asked. A sly grin crept onto his face. "Come with me to Ino's place tonight then!"

"Whatever for?" Neji asked, he was quickly getting tired of this conversation.

"Shes having a sleepover sorta thing with a couple other girls, including Tenten. Chicks talk about that sorta stuff when they're together. I'm sure Tenten will tell the girls about her crush on you." He replied.

Neji sighed. "So, you are trying to tell me that we are going to SPY on these girls, just to see if Tenten likes me?"

"Yup!" Chouji responded. Think of it as an info gathering mission.

"If they don't say anything about it, will you give up this illusion?" Neji asked. He knew there was no way he could convince Chouji not ot go through with this, but he wasn't going to make it a complete loss for himself.

"Yeah, yeah, sure." he responded. "But if I'm right, what are ya goin' to do about it?" Chouji asked. His eyes were bright with curiosity.

Neji stopped in his tracks. What WOULD he do if that was true? He honestly hadn't teh slightest idea, which is what he told Chouji.

"Lets make a deal." Chouji said. "If I'm right, you ask Tenten out."

He looked to see Neji's response to that. He nodded in agreement.

"Ok. and if I'm wrong, which I'm not, I'l..." Chouji paused, trying to think of something...

"If you are wrong, you have to tell Ino that you like her." Neji finished for him.

Chouji looked to him, bewildered.

"Yuo make it pretty obvious..." Neji said, answereing his unasked question.

"Fine, its a deal!" Chouji declared.

"9:00, Ino's place." Chouji said, walking off.

"Hn" was the only response from Neji. 


	3. sleepover

Tenten looked at the clock, wishing time would hurry up

**Ok, already uploading chapter 3 and its only been a few hours. Oh well! Hope you like it and I'll probably update again later. Lol. Thanks Reinao Tanaka. I spose this ones for you since you actually showed interest. You too Bitto! Hope I don't let ya down!**

Tenten looked at the clock, wishing time would hurry up. It was only eight and she was already ready to go. She had packed her drawstring mesh camo bag with the basic necessities for a night away from home and had showered and changed into something more comfortable than her training clothes.

She paced back and forth across her kitchen floor, anxious to get going. Getting aggravated with the never changing scene of kitchen counters, a sink, microwave, fridge ect, she decided to step outside to wait. She shivered as the cold air hit her skin. The temperature had dropped slightly since sundown. It felt great and she was glad she wasn't wearing any more than her jean shorts and camo tube top.

Finally, nine rolled around and Tenten took off towards Ino's house. She jumped from roof to roof, savoring the feeling of the cold air against her skin. She reached Ino's house and knocked on the door, bag in hand. It was Sakura who opened it, and she let Tenten in, smiling.

Tenten could see that Hinata was there also. Definitely a good crowd when you needed a distraction.

"Hey guys!" Tenten called, waving at everyone.

"Hey Tenten" Hinata and Ino said in unison.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, its time for the fun to begin!" Ino called out.

--

"Whoa! Tenten looks totally different!" Chouji exclaimed. He had never seen her aside from practice and missions, so seeing her now was a new one.

"Well, no one walks around in their training clothes." Neji muttered. He tried to act like he didn't care, but he had also never seen Tenten in normal attire. He had to admit, she looked great. He couldn't believe that such a great body was hidden under that baggy stuff she normally wore.

"Alright! Here they go!" Chouji said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Neji nodded in acknowledgement and listened as the girls gathered in a circle on Ino's living room floor.

--

"Here's what were gonna do." Ino said to the group. "I've got my mp3 player on shuffle and hooked up to speakers. When I hit play, were gonna say the first person that comes to our mind when we hear the song."

"Cool." Was Sakura's reply

Hinata just smiled and nodded.

Tenten just looked at Ino. She looked…..mischievous…and that scared her.

"ok…" Tenten finally replied.

"Awesome! Ok! First song..." Ino cheered, pressing play on her offensively bright pink mp3 player.

_We'll do it all. Everything. On Our own. _

_We Don't need anything. Or anyone._

_If I Lay Here. If I Just Lay here._

_Would you lie with me and just forget the world?_

"Shikamaru!" shouted all three girls at the same time. They looked at each other, giggling furiously.

"It just wouldn't be right to think anything else." Ino stated. She reached for the mp3 player and hit the "next" button.

_Hello little boys, little toys. We're the dreams you're believing. Crawling up the walls, running down your face. Razor sharp, razor clean, feel the weapon's sensation. On your back, with loaded guns!_

"That's Ino for you" Tenten said, grinning wickedly at the blonde kunoichi.

"I have to agree with Tenten" Sakura stated, her grin matching Tenten's.

"I dunno….the whole weapons thing reminds me of you, Tenten" Ino said. Hinata nodded in agreement.

"Whatever you guys say." Was Tenten's only response.

Next

_I want you to want me. I need you to need me.  
Id love you to love me. I'm beggin you to beg me.  
I want you to want me. I need you to need me.  
Id love you to love me. Ill shine up the old brown shoes, put on a brand-new shirt.  
Ill get home early from work if you say that you love me._

Hinata was the first to speak. "The song reminds me of Naruto-kun.." she said quietly.

"Well, of course it does!" Ino said laughing.

"Who does it remind YOU of then?" Sakura asked.

"You first!" Ino said loudly, trying to suppress giggles.

"Fine." Sakura said. "It reminds me of…"

"WAIT!" Ino said, putting her hand up to stop Sakura. "Before you try to buillshit me, remember I can get in your mind and tell if you're lying."

Sakura started blushing slightly. "Ok, so this song..well…it kinda reminds me of Gaara…" she finished and saw the girl's jaws drop.

Tenten just smiled. She personally thought Sakura was just what Gaara needed.

Ino would not be beaten. "Well…to make this interesting…try to guess who mine was."

"Sai?" Sakura guessed.

Ino shook her head no.

"Shikamaru?" Hinata asked.

She shook her head again.

Tenten just smiled. "It was Chouji, wasn't it."

Ino let a small blush creep onto her cheeks.

"YOU?? CHOUJI?! Huh?" was all Sakura could say.

"Why so surprised?" Ino asked.

Since Sakura was currently rendered speechless, Hinata spoke for her.

"It..its just that…your s-so into physical a-at-attraction and what not….constantl-ly on diets and s-s-stuff

"You guys haven't seen Chouji in serious battle. That fat is just a cover. He actually needs it to kickass. And he is just so sweet!" the last part had Ino grinning like an idiot.

"How'd you guess?" Sakura asked Tenten, finally finding her voice.

"Easy" Tenten said nonchalantly. "You can't hang around someone as much as Ino does with Chouji and not like them."

"True." Hinata said.

--

"DUDE! She digs me!" Chouji was ecstatic.

Slap

Neji slapped him upside the back of his head.

"What the hell was that for!?" he cried out.

"If you don't shut the hell up we're gonna get caught! Neji growled.

"OH! Oops, my bad." Chouji whispered.

"Whatever. Now shut up, Tenten is up next. Neji couldn't stand the suspense. He wanted to know…he HAD to know!

--

"Alright Tenten, your turn." Ino said.

Tenten sighed. Ino already knew who was on her mind, she just wanted to make her say it out loud.

"Thesongremindedmeofneji" she mumbled under her breath.

They just stared at her.

Ino rolled her eyes. "If you don't use spaces when speaking no one will understand you."

"Ugh! I said the song reminded me of Neji! There, I said it! Happy?" she yelled.

Sakura and Hinata gasped.

Ino just smiled. "Yes, yes I am" she said to the bright read girl sitting across from her.

--

"There you have it!" Chouji said, smiling.

"That's…..thats…I didn't…wow." Neji couldn't get his words out right.

Then, guilt flooded over him like a tsunami. She really did care about what he said…what he thought…and he just turned his nose up at her every time.

"Now I feel like shit." Neji said, mostly to himself.

"Toldya!" Chouji said to him.

Just then….a hand came down one each of their shoulders.

"Oh shit..." was all Neji could manage.


	4. busted

To my reviewers, the few and far between, Thanks

**To my reviewers, the few and far between, Thanks! I just can't seem to stop writing…and I spose I should "blame" you guys, but whatever. I'm glad you guys are enjoying this some! Rohain Tahquil, TheAPrincess, and JoshK1o25 this one's for you, un!**

"Watcha doin'? Ino asked playfully.

Neji just sat there, stiff with fear. All he could think was "shit, we're caught".

"Well, itsa funny story really…" Chouji began. "Me and my buddy Neji were having this conversation while walking and we came up to your place and it looked soo inviting, so we decided to come on over!" Chouji grinned idiotically.

"So, you decided to pop on over…at 9 at night…and hide in my bushes? Intriguing…"

Chouji scratched his head, laughing nervously.

"No, that's not it. You know that, of course." Neji said.

"Well no kidding." Ino said, rolling her eyes laughing.

"Who is it?" Called Tenten from the doorway. Ino had randomly jumped up and headed out the door, muttering something about there being someone outside and the others had sent Tenten to check on her.

"Oh, nothing really, just a couple of pervs!" Called Ino.

"Hey! Wait a minute! This is your living room window! What could be perverted about that?!" Chouji cried angrily. He was starting to get nervous. He had seen the kind of things a pissed Ino could do to people…it wasn't pretty.

"Well, I assume the reason you're here is because Neji overheard mine and Hinata's phone conversation earlier."

Neji just looked at her, confused as hell. Chouji looked at Naji with the same look.

"Whats she talkin' about?" Chouji asked, eyeing Neji warily.

"Not the slightest idea." Neji responded.

Ino put her hands on her hips. "Don't play around Neji. I called Hinata earlier to ask her about coming over with Sakura and possibly Tenten to practice making out with eachother! You overheard and grabbed your pervy buddy here and came to see the show!" Ino smiled. She could be straight up evil, and she knew it.

Both boys turned bright red.

"Wait…huh? No way! NONONONONONONO! That's not it at all!" Neji was tripping over himself, panic slowly taking over.

"Then why?" Ino asked.

Neji sighed, he knew when to accept defeat. "Chouji informed me about feelings Tenten had for me that I was unaware of. I didn't believe him. He said you all were having a get together tonight at which you would talk about that sort of thing, so we came to prove each other wrong." He hung his head as he finished. "and oh how wrong I was…" he thought to himself.

"HEY, TENTEN! Get out here!" Ino shrieked.

Both boys covered their ears. They had not been prepared for the high pitched sound that came from Ino and it took a few seconds to recover from it.

Tenten was there in a flash. "Whats is …ack!" she stopped mid speech when she saw who the intruders were.

"Neji! Chouji! What the HELL are you two doing here? And in a bush?" Tenten looked at the two boys, then Ino, completely flustered.

At that point, Neji had enough of the chaos. He got up, brushing the debris from his pants. "Tenten, I would like to have a word with you, if I may." On the outside he was calm. Indside, however, he was a mess. He knew he had to talk to her…but he didn't know if he would end up physically being able to.

"Uh….I-I guess…"Tenten said, starteld. "Ino, you mind if I dissapear for a few moments?"

Ino shook her head. "Not at all! You have fun you crazy kids.!" She said, laughing.

Tenten glared. Neji blushed. Together, they walked off into the night.

Ino turned her attention back to Chouji. "You, sir, have no escape." She said smirking.

"Oh really?" he said, grinning. Ino looked at him suspiciously. "You got a magic trick to save you?" She asked.

"Yeah, a question for you." He said slyly.

"and what would that be?"

"Wanna go grab some dumplings? Its on me" he asked, grinning.

"Hell yeah!!" she said. "Your safe, for now..." she said.

Before leaving with Chouji, Ino popped into her house to tell Hinata and Sakura that she was dissapearing for a while, and that Tenten was gone too.

With that, she bid a fare adieu and walked off with Chouji.

Hinata and Sakura sat there for a minute, trying to come to terms with what just happened.

Ino had run out the door, called out Tenten, then they both poofed!

"What the hell did we miss!" yelled a frustrated Sakura.

"What now?" asked Hinata.

"I have an idea…" Sakura said, pulling out her cell phone.

"Who are you--"

Sakura stopped her mid sentence

"Just wait, we'll have our own fun!" Sakura said.

The look on her pink haired friend's face scared Hinata, but she knew she was powerless. She just sat back and waited for everything to unfold.

**Ok, for a fair warning to those keeping up with this…I just went to get food stuffs and came back with Ramen. You have been warned! Hehe.**


End file.
